Hyacinthus

These hyacinths grace a window at the top of our stairs with their vibrant colour in contrast to the continuing grey sky of winter. 
According to Greek mythology Hyacinthus was a Spartan prince with whom the poet Thamyris and the god Apollo fell in love. He must have been a beautiful young man as even the West Wind took a fancy to him! It all ended in tears of course when the West Wind, in a fit of jealousy, caught a discus that Apollo and Hyacinthus were playing with and dashed it against the youth's head and killed him. The hyacinth flower sprang from his blood and, it is said, the flower's petals are stained with the tears shed by the grieving Apollo.